The different colors on Google Maps generally refer to varying types of government jurisdictions, natural features, and civic areas…
- Green – Vegetation, darker shades mean more dense
- Tan – Sand & scrub, lighter shades mean less vegetation
- White – Void of any vegetation, sand dunes, mountain peaks
- Light Gray – Population areas, cities, suburbs
- Medium Gray – Military areas
- Gray-Green – Tundra, lava flows, and areas of rocky soil
- Opaque Layer with Faint Outlines – Indian reservations
- Curved Lines – Changes in vegetation
- Angular Lines – Boundaries of federal & state jurisdictions (parks, forests, military, city limits)
What Do the Different Colors Mean on Google Maps?
Google Maps does not provide a color key or map legend. However, they have published some insight on what their colors mean. Refer to, “Exploring Color on Google Maps“.
- Green shades represent vegetation… darker green = dense forest, lighter green = light forest with brush
- Tan shades represent sand, grass, and scrub… light tan = sand with light brush, medium tan = grass and light brush, dark tan = grasslands
- White represents lack of any vegetation… sand dunes, mountain peaks
- Light gray – population centers and suburbs
- Blue represents bodies of water
- Medium Gray represents military areas… military bases, bombing fields
- Opaque Layers with Light Border represents Indian reservations… Tribal nations
- Gray-Green shades represent areas of Tundra, Lava Flows, or rocky soil conditions.
Look at Kansas, it is half green and half off white. East Kansas is mostly flat with lots of wheat and cornfields, very little trees definitely not think vegetation but that area is green on the map, and on the west side has the flint hills, rolling meadows of green but that half is off white. Nobody has been able to explain this. Maybe you can?
October 30, 2020 at 5:28 pmThe green typically refers to more dense vegetation, like forests, thick scrub, et al. The lighter colors (yellow and white) refer to farm fields, desert, or areas with light vegetation.
November 10, 2020 at 12:59 pmThis is only a partial answer. What about the other colors? Tan, beige, etc.
November 4, 2020 at 11:24 amIn KS, beige is shortgrass prairie and green is tallgrass prairie.
November 14, 2020 at 3:57 amNo mention of the DARK BLUE on the shorelines that I am looking for. Are they marine parks, private areas or what?? why make a point of them if you don’t add them to the key??
November 26, 2020 at 11:24 amCheck out the white for ‘China Clay’ near Wotter, Plymouth, UK.
November 28, 2020 at 4:17 amGoogle color scheme is only slightly helpful. What would really help is colors or shading representing area characteristics like: retail, offices, dense tall buildings, blighted neighborhoods, farmland, low-density outlying housing. You can see with their existing colors what if an area is urban AND very green? Or countryside but trashy? What I need is a map that offers better clues as to where to go and where to avoid.
March 2, 2021 at 6:48 am